Beneath the makeup: New York drag queen transformations

A DRAMATIC photo series captures both sides of New York's most glamorous drag queens - the extravagantly made-up divas and the men that hide beneath.

Putting on makeup can mean different things to different people. A safety layer of foundation before work, a dash of red lipstick before a date out or even a fun streak of colour in our eye creases for a night out.

American photographer Leland Bobbé's fascinating portrait series Half Drag. A Different Kind of Beauty reveals a different side to the story.

For these queens makeup means transforming their whole persona. Their name, face and, crucially, their gender.

Colourful as their names, portraits of the flame-haired Maddelynn Hatter and haughty Magnolia Applebottom capture the glamour, colour and glitter-factor of what it means to be a New York drag queen.

While many of us will only encounter these coulourful characters on a night out in our city's more colourful parts photographer Leland Bobbe's images depict not only their uber glamorous side but also their other, more masculine side.

Interestingly there are no digital tricks used here. The model stares straight down the barrel of the camera, albeit fiercly, looking straight into the eyes of the viewer.

Which leads us to the question: what is beauty? What is normal?

Does the way we're born have to dictate the way we act, and ultimately, who we become?

Bobbe says: "With this series my intention is to capture both the male and the alter ego female side of these subjects in one image, in order to explore the cross over between males and females and to break down the physical barriers that separate them."

"Through the power of hair and makeup these men are able to completely transform themselves and find their female side while showing their male side simultaneously."